Pig Latin Translator

The name lost a competition. Hog Latin is attested by 1807 and Pig Latin only from 1889, so the pig arrived roughly eighty years late to a game it now has its name on (Etymonline).

It wasn't a two-horse race either. Dog Latin, Goose Latin and Bum Latin all turn up in the same tradition. The animal was never the point.

Key Takeaways

• Hog Latin is attested by 1807; Pig Latin only from 1889.
• Recorded variants include Dog Latin, Pig Latin, Goose Latin and Bum Latin.
• A period source notes Hog Latin "leads the list", naming nearly as many of these games as every other name combined.
• The rule is one move: shift the opening consonant sound to the end and add "-ay".
• It's a language game rather than a cipher. There's no key, so there's nothing to break.

Which name came first?

Hog, by a long way. Etymonline dates Pig Latin to 1889 and Hog Latin to 1807, and quotes a period source describing how these games got named: "The animals play quite an important part in the naming [of children's languages], as the hog, dog, fly, goose, pigeon, pig, all give names, with Mr. Hog leading."

The same source records that "Hog Latin leads the list, being accredited as naming nearly as many languages as all the other names combined", and lists Dog Latin, Pig Latin, Goose Latin and Bum Latin among the variants.

So this wasn't one game with one name. It was a whole family of children's languages, and the naming convention was "pick an animal". Pig simply won eventually, and we can't tell you why from anything we've read.

What's the actual rule?

Move the sound at the front to the back, then add "-ay". That's it, and it's why the box above can do it in one pass.

• click becomes ickclay - the "cl" moves, "-ay" lands
• more becomes oremay
• strong becomes ongstray - the whole "str" cluster travels, not just the first letter

That last one is the rule people get wrong. The whole opening consonant cluster travels, not just the first letter. Feed "school" to the box above and you get oolschay, with all three of "sch" moving together.

Words starting with a vowel have no consonant to move, so conventions differ: some add "-way", some "-yay", some just "-ay". Ours uses "-way", so apple comes back as appleway. There's no authority to settle it, which is what you'd expect from something children invented.

Is Pig Latin a cipher?

No, and the distinction is the interesting part. A cipher substitutes or rearranges the message itself to conceal it. Pig Latin rearranges syllables you can still hear, which is why saying it out loud gives the game away and writing a cipher down does not.

What it is is a language game, and the thing it defeats is not a codebreaker but an adult who isn't paying close attention. That is a real use, and it is the one we think explains its survival.

The tell is speed. Pig Latin costs a listener almost nothing once they know the trick, because the ear starts doing the reversal for you. That is our experience of it rather than a measured claim.

Why does it survive when nothing else does?

Because the rule is small enough to teach in one sentence and the output is funny.

That combination is rarer than it sounds. Most invented languages need a vocabulary, which means memorisation, and vocabulary is where we reckon these games usually die. Pig Latin needs none. It's a transformation applied to words you already have, so you're fluent the moment you understand the instruction.

The words people always raise here are ixnay and amscray. We are not going to give you their etymologies, because Etymonline's "pig Latin" entry does not carry them and we have not opened the separate entries that would. Ask us again when we have.

Frequently asked questions

Which is older, Hog Latin or Pig Latin?

Hog Latin. Etymonline attests Hog Latin by 1807 and Pig Latin only from 1889, so the older name is the one that lost.

What are the rules of Pig Latin?

Move the opening consonant cluster to the end of the word and add "-ay". The whole cluster travels, so "strong" becomes "ongstray", not "trongsay". Words beginning with a vowel have no fixed convention; ours adds "-way".

Is Pig Latin a real language?

No. It's a language game: one transformation rule applied to English words, with no vocabulary or grammar of its own. That's also why it takes seconds to learn rather than months.

Is Pig Latin a cipher?

Not in any useful sense. Its single rule is public knowledge and the output is still audibly the original, so it hides nothing from anyone who has heard of it. Some real ciphers are keyless too - Atbash is one - but they at least conceal the letters.

What other names did it have?

Dog Latin, Goose Latin and Bum Latin all appear alongside Hog Latin and Pig Latin. A period source quoted by Etymonline says the animals "play quite an important part in the naming" of these children's languages. Compare the rest of the codes, where the naming is duller and the hiding is real.

Ypetay omethingsay intoway ethay oxbay aboveway, enthay ogay andway indfay away odecay atthay actuallyway ideshay omethingsay.

Sources

• Etymonline, pig Latin - retrieved 30 July 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/pig%20Latin